North America

An industry source said on Wednesday that oil production in Kazakhstan increased by?2% from February as output ramped-up at the giant 'Tengiz' field. Oilfields in the Caspian Sea's northeastern corner have been pumping at lower levels since January 18th, when fires broke out at power stations. This has increased uncertainty on global markets that are battling a lack of oil due to the?U.S. and Israel war against Iran. The source stated that the field produced an average of 700,000 barrels per day in March. This is a 19% increase from February. According to a source it peaked at 978,000 barrels...

Bahrain circulated a revised draft U.N. Security Council resolution on protecting commercial ships?in and around Strait of Hormuz. The language was retained, authorising "all necessary measures" but removing a reference to 'binding enforcement. The shipping through this waterway has already been slowed down to a near halt, after Iran attacked vessels during its conflict with Israel and the United States. Bahrain's first draft was seen and supported by other Gulf Arab countries and Washington. It explicitly invoked Chapter VII (of the U.N. Charter) which allows the Security Council authorise measures from sanctions to military power. Diplomats stated that adoption of...

Shipping data revealed that a Russian-flagged oil tanker with 700,000 barrels of crude oil docked at Cuba's Matanzas Oil Terminal?on Tuesday. This was the first significant oil shipment to the island after President Donald Trump's Administration cut off the fuel supply. Under U.S. sanction, the Anatoly Kodkin vessel entered Cuban waters late Sunday, not far from Guantanamo's U.S. Navy Base. This was despite U.S. restrictions imposed on oil supplies from Russia to Cuba. The U.S. claimed that it allowed the tanker's crude oil delivery for humanitarian reasons. LSEG data shows that the?Aframax fuel tanker entered Cuba’s largest fuel storage area...

These are the top stories from the business pages of the New York Times. These'stories' have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these stories. In an effort to ease the de facto blockade Washington imposed on Cuba, the United States has allowed a Russian oil tanker to arrive in Cuba. Jonathan Greenberger is the next global editor-in-chief of Politico. Tom Homan, Trump's top border official, said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents may remain at U.S. Airports even after they are paid again. This is because the shutdown of Homeland Security has caused a...

Oman's Foreign Ministry?said Sunday that it?"condemns" attacks on its land, adn that no one has claimed responsibility. Authorities are investigating "sources and motivations" of the attacks, without giving any further details or naming a specific attack. Oman reported on Saturday that a worker had been injured in a drone attack at the Salalah port of the Gulf nation. Danish container shipping company Maersk later announced it temporarily halted operations?at the Salalah port?after the attack. Iranian media reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed on Saturday they had targeted a U.S. Support vessel "considerably" away from Salalah Port. The statement continued, "As...

Kuwait 'International Airport 'was targeted by multiple drone attacks Saturday, causing significant damage to the radar system, but resulting in no injuries, according to state news agency KUNA, citing Kuwait Civil Aviation Authority. Later, the spokesperson for the authority said that the attacks were perpetrated by Iran and its proxies as well as the armed groups it supports. Kuwait's fire department, meanwhile said a??fire? that broke out??? in fuel tanks at an airport on Wednesday after a previous drone assault had been extinguished AFTER 58 CONSECUTIVE HOURS, KUNA reported??on Saturday?. Tehran launched strikes on Israel, as well as on Gulf...

The U.S. aircraft carriers Gerald R. Ford and the USS Enterprise, which were deployed to U.S.-Israeli missions against Iran, have anchored at Split, Croatia, for repairs and maintenance. On March 12, the 'Ford', the world's biggest carrier and newest ship, was supporting Operation Epic Fury in the Red Sea when a fire in its laundry room caused three injuries. A?U.S. Officials at the time confirmed that nearly 200 sailors were also treated for smoke-related issues. It took several hours to put out the fire, which affected 100 sleeping berths. The warship was deployed for nine months, and took part in...

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted all traffic at three of the main airports in the Washington, DC area late on Friday night after an odor was detected by a Virginia air-traffic control facility. The FAA stated that the odor forced them to evacuate Potomac Consolidated Terminal RADAR - Approach Control TRACON which controls the airspace of numerous airports around the Washington region. Around 6:40 p.m.?EDT, the FAA announced ground stops at Reagan Washington National Airport and?Washington Dulles. Baltimore, and smaller airports located in Charlottesville, Richmond, and Charlottesville. The odor from the Warrenton facility, Virginia, has caused traffic to be...

The U.S. Homeland Security Department of the United States announced on Friday that it would take emergency measures to pay 50,000 airport security officers who had not been paid since mid-February. Work absences caused chaos and long security lines at?U.S. airports. "(The Transportation Security Administration has) immediately begun?the process?of paying its workforce. DHS stated that TSA officers could start receiving their paychecks as soon as Monday. On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he would pay TSA employees. He then issued a memorandum directing payments to be made on Friday. TSA announced earlier Friday that nearly 14% of airport security...

Jean-Noel Barrot, France's Foreign Minister, said Friday that the U.S. Secretary of State Marco?Rubio?suggested Washington's goal was to destroy Iran’s ballistic capability and that Paris had the same objective of restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Barrot, speaking on the sidelines of the G7 in France, said: "I will not speak for Marco Rubio, but I will happily refer to his 'public statements,' which correspond to our conversations today about the stated U.S. objectives. These include the neutralization Iran's missile capabilities. Barrot responded that France shares the same goals as the U.S. regarding the Hormuz region and...

LSEG's ship monitoring data on Friday showed that a tanker?carrying about?200,000 barrels originally bound for Cuba, has arrived in Venezuelan water. After being stuck in the Atlantic Ocean, the Hong Kong-flagged ship Sea Horse rerouted to Venezuela earlier this month after spending weeks there. This is a major blow for an oil-hungry?island which has experienced several blackouts during this month. The Sea Horse's stranding at sea and its sudden change of course to Venezuela were not clear. Cuban government oil imports are being blocked by the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump, who is increasingly restricting fuel supplies for Cuba's...

Three market sources have confirmed that Russian energy company Novatek suspended 'gas condensate export loadings and naphtha processing at its Ust-Luga facility following drone attacks which caused a fire at the facility. Novatek's cuts to naphtha exports will have an impact on Asian markets. They already experienced a feedstock shortage last March when the U.S./Iran conflict disrupted Middle East fuel shipments. These attacks were one of the most intense drone strikes in Russia's western energy corridor. The Baltic ports Primorsk, Ust-Luga, and the surrounding area were repeatedly targeted by drone strikes. Explosions tore through terminal infrastructure and ignited storage tanks,...

The head of a group that represents nearly all major automakers called on Wednesday for the scrapping of the 18.4 cent per gallon U.S. tax?on gas and replacing it with a vehicle charge?to pay for road repairs. John Bozzella is the head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors (GM), Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and other major auto companies. He said that a government proposal should be used to address the growing financial shortfall within the highway trust fund. This would involve imposing a fee on each vehicle based on its weight. Congress hasn't raised the federal gas...

Transportation Security Administration said absences among the nation’s 50,000 security agents fell'sharply' on Monday, as workers received their paychecks after six weeks of working without a paycheque. Major?airports which had experienced multi-hour lines reported that operations were largely back to normal. Homeland Security Department reported that the absence rate dropped to 8.6% from 12.4% on Friday. Atlanta had the highest number of absenteeism reported on Monday, with 29%. Other airports with high absence rates include Baltimore, New Orleans and John F. Kennedy in New York, Philadelphia, Houston's two airports, Baltimore, New Orleans and Houston. The TSA experienced a surge in...

Sable Offshore announced on Monday that it had 'begun selling oil to Chevron from its Santa Ynez Pipeline System off the coast of California, after resuming crude transport earlier this month. In premarket trading, shares?were up by more than 3%. Since 2015, the pipeline system that runs along California's Gaviota coast has been closed. The spilled oil polluted miles of coastline and killed wildlife, damaging local fisheries. Sable's effort to restart the system is now the subject of a?long-running dispute between California regulators and the environmental groups who have filed lawsuits against the reopening. The restart is a result of...

Russian officials reported that the Ust-Luga port, which is one of Russia's largest petroleum export outlets, was damaged by a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday, which ignited a fire. Ukraine intensified drone strikes on Russia's oil export infrastructure in the last month. These attacks included Novorossiysk, on the Black Sea, and?Primorsk, and Ust-Luga, on the Baltic Sea. These attacks caused severe oil supply disruptions for Russia, which is the second largest oil exporter in the world. They also hit Moscow at a time when oil prices were above $100 per barrel because of?the Iran War. The Governor of Russia's Leningrad...

The veteran Republican U.S. legislator?Sam?Graves said Friday that he would not run for re-election in this year. He joins more than 50 incumbents who have left the chamber. Graves has been representing a Missouri congressional district since 2001. The Republican colleagues of President Donald Trump are trying to keep their narrow majority in the House and Senate during the midterm elections in November. According to a House count, 57 House members - 36 Republicans & 21 Democrats – have declared they won't run for reelection. Graves has been a leading legislator in aviation issues, including the safety legislation the House...

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson on Friday, said that Russia does not seek to undermine U.S. interests in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. He was answering a question regarding comments made by several Russian experts on state television, who suggested that Russia should stop oil deliveries via the CPC to Kazakhstan as a response to Washington sanctions against Russia. CPC, in which U.S. oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron are major shareholders, exports oil from a Russian port on the Black Sea. Peskov said in a daily press conference that "along with our American partners, we also have Kazakh partners." Despite everything, Russia...

Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said that the U.S. was seeking to control the Nord Stream pipelines in 'the Baltic Sea' which were allegedly damaged by a mysterious blast in September 2022. The explosions that destroyed pipelines in Europe more than three year ago have largely halted the transit of Russian gas to Europe. This has squeezed energy supplies across the continent, even though?Russia already stopped most deliveries. Both Russia and Western countries have said that the incident was a sabotage. Investigators have spent years trying to solve the mystery behind the attack. Last year, a Ukrainian was arrested in...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that Ukraine uses long-range attacks on energy infrastructure in order to'maintain the pressure' on Russia following the easing of international oil sanctions against Moscow this month as a result the Iran War. Washington granted a 30-day exemption to countries this month to purchase sanctioned Russian crude oil and petroleum products that were stranded on the sea. The waiver was issued to stabilize the global energy markets, which had been roiled by conflict in the Middle East. Ukraine's European Allies who want to continue?pressure on Russia for it to end its four-year old war...

On Thursday, oil prices increased 5%, reversing the previous session’s decline, amid fears that a long-term conflict in the Middle East could disrupt supply. Brent?futures rose $5.26 or 5.2% to $107.48 per barrel at 10:57 am?EDT (1450 GMT), near the session high of $107,84. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures rose $3.53 or 4% to $93.85 per barrel after reaching as high as $94.84. Both benchmarks fell more than 2% Wednesday. Iran has reviewed a U.S. plan to end this war but does not intend to hold talks, said Iran's Foreign Minister on Wednesday. U.S. president Donald Trump warned Iran...

Investors flocked to safer assets as they awaited clearer signals on whether the Iran War was truly de-escalating. U.S. president Donald 'Trump' said Iran was eager for a?deal? after nearly four weeks fighting. This claim was in stark contrast with comments made by Iran’s foreign minister who stated that Tehran was reviewing an American proposal, but did not plan to enter into talks to end the conflict. Jim Reid, a Deutsche Bank analyst, said that the market's attention was quickly shifting to Trump's deadline of five days. "There is still plenty of uncertainty.. given that Iran has publicly rejected the...

Canada's Trans Mountain Oil?pipeline is expected to be?almost completely full in April. This marks an important milestone for the conduit, which has seen a record-breaking level of usage since the C$34 billion expansion last year. The 890,000-barrel-per-day pipeline, which carries oil from the province of Alberta to British Columbia's west coast, is running near maximum capacity, said Trans Mountain ?CEO Mark Maki. Maki stated that the Iran War has caused disruptions in Middle East oil supply, which have led to an increase in demand for Canadian oil, particularly from Asian buyers, including China. Maki stated in Houston, at the CERAWeek...

Trans Mountain, a Canadian company, launched a?bidding process? on Wednesday to secure firm transportation contracts for its pipeline system. The "Open Season", a process to gauge interest from the commercial community in possible projects to increase system capacity, runs from April 7 through June 2. The company stated that the Open Season will result in 80 to 90 percent of its 890 000?barrels a day (bpd), pipeline system, being contracted. This includes shipments between Edmonton, Alberta, and delivery locations in British Columbia. The Canadian government owns the 'Trans Mountain Pipeline,' which transports oil from Alberta to British Columbia on the...